TravelStream™ news feed for member keith_aussie on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/keith_aussie en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:36:56 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225731600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225731600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225731600/tpod.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:36:56 -0500 Adventures in Hawaii

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Hilo, Hawaii, United States

For our final day on the Big Island Max and I chose to head south again and see the Lava Tree State park, as well as stop off at some natural hot springs. Lava trees are created when lava surrounds a tree and then hardens in the shape of the tree, creating little pillars of hardened lava.

Our final major destination was the south coast where a number of natural hot springs exist. Once we found them we were able to soak in the water, which was about 30 degrees, and was the perfect way to relax after a number of days of hiking. We headed out onto the rocks near the shore for some pictures as well, until the tsunami alarms went off and sent us scampering back to town. While it turned out to be a false alarm it was still an interesting sight seeing all the people fleeing back to safety along the coast.

For the remainder of the day we toured the galleries and shops of Hilo before embarking on our flight back to Honolulu.

Altogether the trip was an amazing experience that I am certain I will not soon forget. The sights of Hawai'i are so varied and incredible and having even a short time to experience them has been unbelievable.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225645200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225645200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225645200/tpod.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:10:47 -0500 Adventures in Hawaii

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Hilo, Hawaii, United States

On Sunday we decided to tour the historic Hamakua Coast and see all the valleys and beaches hidden along it. It is known as the Big Island's premier scenic drive, traversing the 45 miles north of Hilo.

Our first stop was at a little beach just north of Hilo which is apparently home to seals come December and January. From here we stopped at a little fruit market to sample some local produce, including the aptly named Star Fruit...which is a weird semi-sweet fruit shaped like a star.

Our next stop took us to Akaka Falls, a 120m waterfall at the end of a long valley along the coast. It was quite a spectacular drop to see, although nothing compared to the waterfall in Waipio we would see later in the day.

We continued on up the road, stopping at numerous scenic lookouts before reaching Honoka'a for lunch, where we sampled some Malasadas, which are pastries coated in sugar and then fried...and absolutely delicious. After lunch we traveled the final few kilometers to Waipio lookout. The lookout provides views of the magnificent and almost pre-historic Waipio Valley, which was once a sugar farm area before a tsunami wiped out settlement. We parked our car here since it was not able to travel into the valley, and then hiked down the 4 wheel drive only road into the valley. The hill was really steep going down, and heading back up later that day would be absolute torture.

We attempted to make our way to Waipio waterfall, but were prevented from getting close, and so back-tracked to the magnificent black sand beach. There we found some of the best body surfing conditions that I have seen during my stay in Hawai'i, and so spent most of the afternoon in the waves.

Shortly before leaving we hiked up the far end of the valley to get a view from another lookout, before crawling up the initial road out of the valley once more. While the hills were a killer, the views and experience in the valley was priceless and a great way to spend the day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225555200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225555200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225555200/tpod.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:33:17 -0500 Adventures in Hawaii

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Hilo, Hawaii, United States

At 4:00am on November 1st Max and I boarded a tour bound for the lava fields on the south coast of Hawai'i. We were leaving at this time for two reasons, one being that lava is best seen at night, and the other being that we were skirting the law by going on this tour. Where the lava is flowing used to be a town and the tour guide owned a house there. The house has long since been burned down, but the property is still hers, so if anyone asked we were "going to check on the property", which let us get past the security barriers designed to keep tourists away from the lava field. Instead of getting to a vantage point about a kilometre away from the lava we were instead less than 50m from where the lava was exploding into the ocean and oozing across the beaches.

While my pictures aren't that great, the experience of watching lava explode into the ocean and the air was an absolutely spellbinding one, and we stood watching for easily an hour while it seemed no time had passed at all. While we watched the sun came up, giving a totally different perspective of the lava, and just before we were going to leave the vent opened up and lava poured out in a flow across the rocks. It is incredibly surreal to watch the red hot lava ooze out of the ground and form all sorts of incredible patterns as it hardens on contact with the air.

After watching the lava for an hour or so we returned to the tour van and travelled back to Hilo, where our tour guide then endeared herself to us forever by helping Max and I find a car rental place that would rent to me even though I was only 21. For the remainder of the trip we had a little red sunfire to call our own, and it made getting around to all the tourist locations infinitely easier.

Around mid-morning we left for Volcano National Park, which contains the actual crater of Kilauea and a number of other lava formations. We had initially planned to hike around the whole park following the crater rim trail, but the Halema`uma`u Crater (the crater located in the center of Kilauea's caldera) was giving off massive clouds of toxic sulfur dioxide that prevented us from following that route.

Instead we took a couple of hikes, one along the caldera wall viewing steam vents and sulfur pits, and the other through the Kilauea Iki crater. The steam vents and sulfur pits were interesting, although sulfur certainly does stink. The walk through the crater, a smaller crater to the west of Kilauea Caldera, was the long one, and walking across a crater under the midday sun is a very, very tiring experience. The desolation of a crater cannot really be described, and the pictures barely do its bleakness justice.

We also took a hike through a lava tube, which is what we saw in action earlier in the morning where the lava hit the water. The lava tube is formed when lava flows in a large flow and the top layer hardens while underneath it continues to flow, creating a tube of solid rock around the molten lava. Obviously the tube we walked through was an extinct one, but the inside was still filled with interesting formations created by the lava as it drained out.

After seven hours of hiking we made our way back to town, stopping briefly at a Macadamia Nut factory on the way. While we were too late to take the factry tour we did manage to snag a lot of free samples, including the most delicious chocolate I have ever tasted. Unfortunately the price was such that free samples was all we could afford.

The day finished with a free pizza dinner supplied as part of the lodge's guest appreciation night, which was a wonderful treat by them and most appreciated by us.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225484160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225484160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225484160/tpod.html Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:33:18 -0500 Adventures in Hawaii

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Hilo, Hawaii, United States

To start my second day of the vacation I hiked into Hilo again to visit 'Imiloa, an astronomy and cultural centre located on the University of Hawai'i Hilo campus. It was a great source of information on the night sky that would be visible from Mauna Kea, and on how the Polynesians used the stars to navigate between islands. There was a great deal of Polynesian history at the centre and it did a great job of explaining their culture.

The final feature of 'Imiloa was a planetarium where I watched a video explaining the Polynesian creation story of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. It also explained exactly where to look for each celestial object in the evening sky, which was very useful as I had a tour up to Mauna Kea booked for the evening.

The tour started at 2:00 and included a stop at Rainbow Falls, a waterfall at the edge of Hilo, before continuing across the island to Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea is 4200m tall, the highest peak in Hawai'i, and there is only 60% as much oxygen at the summit as at sea level. As we drove up on the tour we saw the landscape change around us, going from lush coastal rainforest to temperate forest and finally barren lava plains. I've included pictures where possible to illustrate the change.

We stopped at the visitor's centre at 2800m to acclimatise for half an hour before heading to the summit for sunset. It was cold, very cold, at the summit. Coming to Hawai'i I had certainly not packed clothes to be out in -10 degree temperatures and so very nearly froze at the top. In addition, walking the short 200m distance from the bus to the actual summit took an extreme effort, and all our hearts were pounding and breathing laboured after only a few steps. The view was, however, very worth it.

After the sun set we were treated to a celestial show, and I saw more stars at the top of Mauna Kea than ever before in my life. We could clearly see both Venus and Jupiter unassisted, and with only a small telescope could see four of Jupiter's moons. The glow of the Milky Way was clearly visible, and we saw numerous shooting stars while there as well. All-in-all the trip to the top of Mauna Kea was one of the most impressive and awe inspiring things I have ever done.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225413480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225413480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1225413480/tpod.html Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:59:37 -0500 Adventures in Hawaii

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Hilo, Hawaii, United States

At 8:50 I boarded a plane for the Big Island of Hawai'i for my long awaited vacation. After a brief delay resulting from the plane breaking down I was on my way, and arrived in Hilo around midday. One of my co-workers, Max, accompanied me on the trip. While we don't really get along, it was great to have someone else to see the sights with, if only so that we always had someone to get our photo at the memorable spots.

After arriving in Hilo I hitch-hiked into town and spent the rest of the day exploring. It turns out Hilo is actually quite small, and it has a very "island" feel to it. While this doesn't mean alot to anyone who hasn't lived on an island, let's just say it has a very relaxed and quaint atmosphere to it. The town has one main street, Kamehameha Street, along which all the cafes, tourist traps, and local markets can be found. The other side of this street was originally a shopping district, but was destroyed in a 1946 tsunami and so it now a parkland area.

I walked through all of the parkland, of which a number of pictures can be seen, before hiking 5km out of town to the hostel I would be spending the next 4 nights at. As it turns out the hostel is very well appointed and the dorm accomodations were fantastic while costing very little. I would even go so far as to say the accomodations were nicer than my current apartment in Honolulu.

In the late afternoon I checked out the coves near the hostel and came across a number of sea turtles, of which I managed to get a few good pictures of. I went out swimming with them too, coming within a metre or so of a pair as they swam around the bay.

In the evening the skies opened up and Hilo lived up to its reputation as the wettest town in Hawai'i, as it would every evening for the trip. Overall a very successful start to the trip and I looked forward to the following day's Mauna Kea tour.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1215178020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1215178020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1215178020/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:34:35 -0400 Adventures in Hawaii

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Hanauma Bay, Hawaii, United States

To start off our Independence Day, Mike and I went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, east of Honolulu. It is quite a famous snorkeling spot, and we had been warned to get there early. We arrived around 9:30, and it was already extremely busy.

We purchased an underwater camera, the film from which has not yet been developed, so pictures from it will have to wait. We also rented snorkeling gear, and then ventured out onto the reef. The reef is extremely shallow, not more than 10cm from the surface in many places, so swimming around without touching everything could be tough. The fish were extremely colourful, and the variety was quite incredible. the coral itself was a bit bland, obviously suffering from the visits from thousands of tourists, but the fish did make up for it.

The remainder of the day was spent lying on the beach before watching some magnificent fireworks at Ala Moana bay, just minutes from my apartment. These were the best fireworks I have seen since New Years in Australia, so the display was quite a spectacle to behold. It was raining a bit at the time, as it does every evening, so we did not take our cameras unfortunately.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1215338400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1215338400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1215338400/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:11:08 -0400 Adventures in Hawaii

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Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

Sunday evening was Mike's last full day in Hawaii. The previous evening we had gone to a 3 Doors Down concert at Bayfest, an Independence Day festival. The concert was great, the fireworks spectacular...and the three hour hike at 2:00am after missing the last bus quite enjoyable as well. To conclude that story we managed to get picked up by a taxi on one of the highways back to Honolulu, and the driver promptly informed us about the ghosts on the road and the aliens he had seen on his last trip to Canada...

One thing to note before talking about the Luau is just how patriotic Americans really are. Friday was a crazy day with people everywhere, flags at most beach sites, and the fireworks at the end of the day all coloured in red, white, and blue.

Getting back to the focus of this entry, a luau is a traditional party that used to be held to celebrate births, royal visits, etc. These days it is more an event to celebrate drinking and fine food, but there were some traditional aspects to it as well. We went to the Paradise Cove Luau, one of the biggest on Oahu. Upon arriving we were greeted with terrific Mai Tais, a shell lei, and a picture with one of the dancers.

We spend the late afternoon part of the event throwing spears and completing other traditional Hawaiian activities. We were then taken to a ceremony to demonstrate the royal court, and finally they set us down for dinner. The food was a buffet, and it was absolutely terrific. They had a variety of traditional Hawaiian foods, as well as come conventional meals. For anyone going there, try the pork. It is cooked underground for 8 hours following traditional Hawaiian recipes, and is fantastic. Also, for anyone going to Hawaii, try the poi. It is a blue paste created from ground up taro roots. Its taste and texture are...unique.

The final event of the evening was a series of dances and hulas from the dance crew, as well as some crowd participation. All in all it was a lot of fun and a great way to conclude Mike's trip out to Hawaii.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1215016440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1215016440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1215016440/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:43:19 -0400 Adventures in Hawaii

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Waimea, Hawaii, United States

On Wednesday July 2nd Mike and I took a trip to the north shore of Oahu. On the way we stopped at the Dole Maze, which in 2001 set the record as the world's largest maze. Now, it may have been overtaken since, we don't know, but it took us a good hour or so to get through it, so it was quite impressive.

Our next stop for the day was Waimea Bay, which I had been to once before. The last time I was there it had been a calm day and I spent my time jumping from a rock. On this day, however, the waves were rolling in perfectly and Mike and I spent a good 3 hours body surfing. We also went for a climb around the headlands and of course jumped from the rock as well. This is the Hawaii you see in the postcards and it was absolutely beautiful, the combination of rolling waves, crystal clear water, and bright blue skies.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1214755200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1214755200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1214755200/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:52:28 -0400 Adventures in Hawaii

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Kailua, Hawaii, United States

On Tuesday of last week (June 24th), Michael Pratt, my good buddy from Canada, arrived in Hawaii to start his two week vacation. I took a day off on Wednesday to show him around and we went and toured downtown Honolulu, the beaches, and finally took a trip to Diamond Head.

I had to work the next two days, however on Friday night we started our adventures again. After work on Friday we went and toured the Waikiki area and had a delicious meal at a local restaurant. The place was called P.F. Chang's, and anyone ever coming to visit the Waikiki area should visit it.

We headed out to the Manoa Valley for a hike on Saturday, and ended up spending a number of hours climbing across the hills overlooking Honolulu until we reached the Makiki Heights, a distance of about 12km. The weather was absolutely perfect on Saturday, with not a cloud anywhere in the sky, even up in the hills which are almost always shaded by some low hanging clouds.

On Sunday we staged our biggest trip yet, a full day trip across Oahu to the windward side to visit Kailua and go kayaking off Kailua beach. The beach's claim to fame is that it is one of the seven most beautiful beaches in the world, and while I might not go that far I must say the beach and the backdrop of the hills behind is breathtaking. The coast is dotted with little islands and bird sanctuaries, and we rowed out to many of them. Upon reaching them we of course had to climb all the way around them, which was no easy task. The views of little inlets and rushing waves over the top of brightly coloured fish were well worth it though, and this was easily one of the best parts of the day.

Renting kayaks is a pricey $45 for the day, but definitely worth it if you can spend the majority of the day on the water. Also, as we quickly learnt, bringing sunscreen is a must or you will be very, very burnt at the end of all things.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1212690180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1212690180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/keith_aussie/1/1212690180/tpod.html Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:04:14 -0400 Adventures in Hawaii

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Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

On Saturday, May 31st I took a trip to the North Shore of Oahu. This is the area made famous by all the surfers, and it is where the largest waves in Hawaii come in. On the way I passed a number of attractions that I will have to go back for, such as what is claimed to be the world's largest hedge maze, and the Polynesian cultural center.

Upon arriving at the North Shore beaches I took a walk down the 3km Sunset beach, followed by a stop at Waimea Beach. There I found a large rock that seemed to be a favourite jumping spot for everyone, so I joined in for a few hours. The accompanying pictures give more details.

One thing to note is how quickly the beaches slope down. Either they stay flat for a reef, or they drop incredibly quickly, such as around the jumping rock where the water was a good 4m deep only about 3m from the shore.

On Sunday the company owner took all the employees and some of his friends on his boat to a sandbar. We met a number of other boats all anchored at the sandbar and enjoyed a good day out on the water. Most of my co-workers will appear in the pictures accompanying this entry.
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